Modernisation of the Rhaetian Railway Ge 4/4 III locomotive

The RhB modernisation project

The modernisation project ensures the operation and use of the Ge 4/4 III locomotives for the next 25 years.

The fleet consists of a total of 13 locomotives, which were built in three series. The first nine locomotives were delivered in 1994 as universal locomotives for use on the Albula line. Three more locomotives followed in 1999 and were procured for the car transport service in the Vereina tunnel. The last locomotive was originally built for the Montreux-Berner Oberland-Bahn (MOB) in 1994 and was taken over by the RhB in 2018.

All locomotives will be comprehensively overhauled and partially rebuilt as part of the project. The former MOB locomotive serves as a prototype for the planned measures. This allows the implementation to be tested without having to take a standard locomotive out of service during the conversion phase.

The prototype locomotive was handed over to the operating department at the beginning of August 2026 and is now undergoing operational testing in daily freight traffic. Further commissioning phases are planned for the coming months and will extend the area of operation to the Ablula line and the car shuttle transport service in the Vereina tunnel. The necessary control cab cars are currently being adapted.

Our contribution

Our Enotrac team developed the software for the vehicle control unit of the modernised Ge 4/4 III locomotives on behalf of the Rhaetian Railway.

The specification, development and testing of the software were carried out in accordance with the EN 50657 standard (now superseded by EN 50716) for software development on railway vehicles.

The software was validated after the locomotive was completed and in close cooperation with RhB, which provided the necessary vehicles, the test infrastructure and the personnel to support the commissioning.